Treasure Hunting For Opals

Treasure Hunting For Opals

Treasure Hunting For OpalsBy David Cowley

Opals have been considered a magical precious stone forthousands of years. It is said to help the wearer's psychicpowers and to have better and more vivid dreams. Modern Witchesand Pagans especially look for black opals, said to enhance anymagic spell. But not are opals rich in myth and magic, they arealso really nice to look at. In many ways, they are similar topearls, but not nearly so expensive.

Although you can buy opals from jewelers, geological shows and"nature" stores and their website equivalents, it's far more funand magical to find the opal yourself. This is one of the manyreasons why opal treasure hunting is becoming a popularactivity, especially in Nevada and Oregon, where Bonanza OpalMines and the Juniper Ridge Fire Opal Mines are.

Finders Keepers

Bonanza Opal Mines have "finders' keepers" days where thegeneral public is allowed to come in, pay a daily fee of lessthan $50 and keep any and all opals that they find. You are notallowed to dig just anywhere in the mines, however. Some areasare reserved only for shareholders. But hunting for opals isstill good in all of the other places of the mines.

Depending on where you choose to hunt for opal, the tools youshould bring include Small Hand Rake, Shovel, Pick Axe, Hammer,Bucket, Gloves and Knee pads. You can use the hard rock miningtechnique which entails use of a pick axe, shovels, and a hammeror your could just rake through the tailing which are bulldozedpiles of material removed from the mining area. Many of thesemines are in extraordinarily remote areas so be prepared to campand bring all necessary food, water and mining supplies.

Modern day opal treasure hunters don’t need to travel a hugedistance to and from the mines when they need to relax after aninvigorating day searching. They are allowed to camp in certainplaces in Bonanza Opal Mines. There are also shower facilitiesand a naturally heated pond. Camping and use of the showers isincluded in your daily fee.

If you like the thrill of the hunt and the beauty of theshifting colors of opals, you may be interested to know thatsometimes opportunities come where you can be a Bonanza OpalMine shareholder. When you become one of only 100 shareholders,then you are allowed to dig in the "bank" – the places thoughtto be richest in opals. If you are interesting in a share, youneed to contact Bonanza Opal Mines by email or phone.

Juniper Ridge Fire Opal Mine is another mine that allows thegeneral public to search for opals on a fee bases. The diggingfee is $200 per person per day which gives you the right to digfor opals at the mine area and you are allowed to fill a onegallon bucket with raw gemstones. The mine operators at theJuniper Ridge Fire Opal Mine believe that any reasonably healthand active adult should be able to fill a one gallon buckedwithin a single day. If you have more than one gallon bucketworth of material you can pay an additional fee or simply keeponly the highest grade of opals to take home.

Before booking your opal treasure hunting trip, be sure tocontact your local treasure hunting club to find information onwhat tools to bring. You can find out the contact informationof your local club through the Federation of Metal Detectors andArcheologist Clubs, Inc. Often, your local Wal-Mart will have adisplay table or pamphlets from your local treasure hunting clubavailable. Sometimes, there even will be club members manningthe table so you can ask questions about opal treasure hunting.

About the Author: David Cowley has created numerous articles onTreasure Hunting. He has also created a Web Site dedicated toTreasure Hunting. Visit http://www.treasure-hunting-team.com

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David Cowley

David Cowley has created numerous articles on Treasure Hunting. He has also created a Web Site dedicated to Treasure Hunting. Visit Treasure Hunting